Method of splicing belt

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a belt splice and a method of splicing a belt. The belt splice includes in its most basic form a single ply or wire fabric although when the belt is to be used in heavier conveyor systems, a multiple layer fabric weave may be utilized. The metallic fabric weave is inserted into openings sliced along the longitudinal axis of the ends of the belt which are to be spliced together with the metallic fabric weave being coated with cement prior to such insertion if necessary. The splice further includes filling material which may, if desired, be rubber which is inserted in the area of the splice prior to the vulcanization procedure. The method of splicing the belt includes the steps inferred by the above explanation of the belt splice and other method steps including the particular preferred angle at which the belt ends are cut and the particulars of the vulcanization process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a belt splice and a method of splicing a belt.In the prior art, numerous belt splicing techniques and belt splicesformed thereby are known. For example, early belts were made fromleather which was spliced together through the use of glue and a spliceinterface angled with respect to the longitudinal axis of the belt at asmall acute angle so as to increase the surface area of glue contact.Later, cotton fabric belts were made by calendering rubber into thefabric and stacking the fabric plies together to form a strong belt. Inthis technique, a stepping of the mating edges of the belt was used toenhance the connection. Both of these examples of prior art splicingmethods and splices formed thereby may be catalogued as bonding methodsof splicing. Additionally, mechanical splicing methods have been used aswell as combinations of mechanical and bonding methods of splicing.

In the mechanical catagory of splices, often, the interface area isfitted with an elongated hinge in an attempt to render the spliceflexible in the direction transverse to the longitudinal directionthereof. This technique requires the introduction into the splice of thehinge pin which not only causes shock and strain in the belt when itpasses over the conveyor pulleys but which hinge pin is also easily andrapidly worn by the inherent flexing which takes place at the hinge pinduring its movement between flat and curved regions of the conveyersystem. A further limitation of the hinge-type splice lies in the factthat the joint must be applied to the belt at precisely a right angle tothe elongation of the belt since otherwise the belt would be distortedwhen forced to move over a curved surface such as a pulley.

A further mechanical splicing means comprises the embedding within thefaces of the belt ends of a solid steel plate. Although this is animprovement in other designs due to the lack of metallic or otherelements on the belt surfaces, this splicing device has limitedapplication because it causes the belt to have a flat spot at the areaof the splice even when the belt splice is going around a pulley,thereby causing extreme stress to be placed upon the spliced area.

Sometimes, the flat plate approach is augmented by bolts or rivets whichextend completely through the belt and the plate on both sides of thesplice. When these techniques are employed, the splice is optimized bygrinding down portions of the metallic fasteners which rise above thebelt surfaces. This grinding procedure, which is necessary to ensureavoidance of unfavorable interactions with the conveyor equipment,results in basic weakening of the fasteners. Furthermore, the inclusionof fasteners at the splice act to concentrate the belt pull forces atthe fastener sites, thereby resulting in high levels of belt stressthereat. These high stress concentrations may be somewhat reducedthrough the utilization of a large number of fasteners, however, thisadds time and expense to the splicing process.

Another type of splice consists of a stepped splice which is mostly usedin belts having several layers bonded together. This type of splice isextremely time consuming and expensive to make because due to the highadhesion between belt layers, mechanical equipment must be used to pullthe belt apart at the various layers. Very often, the rubber layers failto strip off at exactly the bonded surfaces thereby leaving patches ofrubber which must be ground away thereby damaging the fabrics containedbetween the layers. No way has yet been devised to accurately grind awaythese rubber patches without damaging the fabrics and thus the steppedmethod and step splice has severe limitations.

The following prior art is known to Applicant:

U.S. Pat. No. 1,250,958 to Brooks discloses a belt fastener including ametal plate placed within split portions of the facing belt ends whichplate is secured to the ends through the use of a plurality of rivetsextending therethrough. The deficiencies of this solid metallic platehave been discussed hereinabove as have the deficiencies of metallicfasteners.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,421,036 and 1,428,917 both to Snyder are similar toBrooks as utilizing solid metal plates embedded within the belt andfastened thereto through the use of rivets. The main difference betweenthe Snyder patents lies in the flat nature of the plate of Snyder '036and the curved nature of the plate in Snyder '917.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,792,718 to Stoll discloses a belt splice utilizing aribbon of metal or other material having a relatively high tensilestress inserted within slits in the belt ends and fastened theretothrough the use of rivets. Thus, the limitations of Stoll are similar tothose discussed with respect to the patents discussed hereinabove.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,076,736 to McHugh discloses a belt formed with tubularstrength elements longitudinally therein which accept auxilliary spliceelements along with adhesive or vulcanization to secure ends of thebelting together. Since the McHugh belt requires the tubular strengthelements, McHugh's splice is not usable with other types of belts.Furthermore, the tubular elements are completely different bothstructurally and functionally from the metallic fabric device ofApplicant.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,566 to Elliot exemplifies the stepped splicediscussed hereinabove and is believed different from the presentinvention as requiring a joining member of a non-metallic fabric whilealso requiring very difficult cuts in the belt ends so as to provide thestepped configuration thereof.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,668 to Ginter, Jr., et al. discloses a spliceutilizing a pair of splice members made of a non-metallic fabric whichare fastened within the belt ends through the use of nails disclosed asbeing made of, for example, rigid nylon or metal. This teaching isbelieved to be similar to the fastener teachings of Brooks, Snyder andStoll as discussed hereinabove. Although the splice members of Ginter,Jr., et al. are flexible, the nail fasteners cause problems inconcentration of forces as well as interference with conveyor componentsas described hereinabove. While the splice elements of Ginter, Jr., etal. are disclosed as being of a flexible nature, their strength islimited since they are not made of metal but rather are disclosed asbeing made of a material such as nylon fibers having a rubber-like orelastomeric material bonded to the surfaces thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the deficiencies and limitations ofprior art methods and splice constructions by simplifying the actualsplice in its structure to thereby also simplify the method of splicing.The inventive splice and method of splicing are embodied in thefollowing unique combination of features:

(a) In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the splice isaccomplished by cutting the belt at an acute angle to the longitudinalextent thereof through the use of a jig.

(b) This jig is also used to slit each end of the belt between the pliesthereof to the depth required so as to enable insertion of a splicepiece.

(c) The splice piece in the preferred embodiment consists of a singleply of wire fabric such as that which is used in steel belted radialtires, however, when the inventive splice is being applied to anextremely heavy conveyor system belt, a splice made up a plurality oflayers of wire fabric may be utilized. Further, if desired, the splicepiece could be made from a fiber fabric such as, for example, nylonfabric such as that which is used in fabric bias ply tires.

(d) In a preferred embodiment, the splice piece is made from twistedwire cables previously calendered with high-tensile natural rubbercompounds and cut precisely at the prescribed angle for accurateinstallation. When viewed from above, the multiple ply splice piececomprises a network of diamond-shaped figures which cushion belttensions through their elongation as longitudinal loads on the beltattempt to move the cables forming the splice piece into parallelalignment with the direction of travel of the belt.

(e) After the splice piece is appropriately inserted into the cuts madein the belt ends, fresh rubber is inserted where necessary into anydepressions which may be evident at the region of the splice.

(f) Then, without the use of any further fasteners, the splice isvulcanized during a single vulcanizing operation which results in asplice of great simplicity and strength. It is contemplated that thesplice of the present invention when properly formed will be no longerthan one foot long in the direction of elongation of the belt.

Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to provide abelt splice and a method of splicing a belt which are much simpler andmore effective than prior art splices and methods.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a belt splicewhich requires no additional fasteners over and above an easily insertedsplice piece.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a belt splicewhich in its most basic form may be accomplished with only three simplecuts being made to a previously unspliced belt. It is a yet furtherobject of the present invention to provide a belt splice which isaccomplished solely through a single vulcanization procedure.

It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide a beltsplice which maintains virtually the same flexibility at the region ofthe splice as exists throughout the rest of the conveyor belt therebycausing smooth continuous motion of the conveyer belt in use andavoidance of wear and tear as well as avoidance of shocks.

These and other objects, aspects and features of the present inventionwill be better understood from the following specific description of thepreferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the appended drawingfigures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a top view of an apparatus utilized to splice a belt shownin conjunction with a belt to be spliced thereby.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the apparatus and belt as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a sliding knife holder forming a partof the jig of the present invention and having a knife clamped theretoin the process enabling the slicing off of the end of a conveyor belt.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the sliding knife holder shown inFIG. 3 but with the knife clamped thereto in a position enabling theslitting of the conveyor belt in a direction along the longitudinal axisthereof.

FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of a splice area of the belt shown inFIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 6 shows a view similar to the view of FIG. 5 but showing moredetails of the particular splice material.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view through the spice area of a belthaving even numbers of plies.

FIG. 8 shows the splice area of a belt having odd numbers of plies.

FIG. 9 shows a top view of an alternative form of the splice piece madeof a single ply.

FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view along the line 10--10 of FIG. 9.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference first to FIGS. 5 and 6, the specific details of theactual splice will be described. As shown in the exploded view of FIG.5, the splice includes a belt 10 which is split at an interface 11, 13at an acute angle α to the longitudinal axis thereof which is shown bythe arrow designated by reference numeral 15. It is believed to beadvantageous to provide the interface surfaces 11 and 13 at an acuteangle because this increases the length of the joint over what it wouldbe if the angle α were 90° to thereby increase the area of vulcanizationat the interface 11, 13 which is believed to increase the strength ofthe splice. Also the angular interface causes the splice area to rollover the conveyer belt pulleys smoothly and gradually.

As further shown in FIG. 5, slits are formed in the respectiveinterfaces 11 and 13 of the belt 10 to a depth therein as shown by therespective dotted lines 17 and 19.

In the preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a splice piece 21 isprovided which in assembly is inserted into the above described slits asfar as it may be inserted. In the preferred embodiment, the width of thesplice piece 21 in the longitudinal direction 15 is specificallydesigned to be slightly less than the distance between the lines 17 and19 when the interfaces 11 and 13 are in engagement with one another. Asalso shown in FIG. 5, respective strings 23 and 25 are inserted in theabove described slits and in engagement with the ends thereof asrepresented by the lines 17 and 19 which strings 23 and 25 aid in thedispersion of vapors which are created by the vulcanization method stepdescribed hereinbelow and used in splicing the belt 10.

In order to enhance the strength of the splice, the rubber covers of thebelt may be removed for the purpose of replacing them with freshunvulcanized rubber prior to the vulcanization step. If such a procedureis to be followed, as will be explained in greater detail hereinafter,non-metallic open-weave fabric strips 27 and 29 are respectively laidover the top and bottom surfaces of the belt 10 and are then covered bythe above described fresh unvulcanized rubber. This procedure will beexplained in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

The specific details of the two ply splice material 21 are betterunderstood with reference to FIG. 6. As shown therein, the splicematerial 21 may be made of a multiple layer wire fabric carefullyprepared from twisted wire cables which have been previously calenderedwith high-tensile natural rubber compounds and which have been preciselycut at prescribed angles. As seen in FIG. 6, the splice piece 21 has awidth dimension designated by the letter a and a length diagonallyacross the width of the belt which is designated by the letter b. Thedimension b is angled with respect to the longitudinal axis 15 of thebelt 10 at the angle α. The width dimension a is specifically designedto be slightly smaller than the distance between the lines 17 and 19shown in FIG. 5 when the interface surfaces 11 and 13 are engaging oneanother.

With further reference to FIG. 6, it is seen that the wire fabric asdescribed above is comprised of a plurality of twisted wire cablesdesignated by the reference numerals 31. If desired, to enhance thestrength of the fabric 21, lengthwise cables 33 may be provided whichare parallel to the length dimension b. As shown in FIG. 6, the cables31 are woven together in such a manner that respective crossing cables31 make an angle β with respect to one another which is of apredetermined nature. As seen in FIG. 6, when the fabric 21 is cut inthe configuration shown, the cables 31 which cross one another formequal angles on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis 15. Thus, whenthe belt 10 is spliced in accordance with the present invention, forcesacting thereon which tend to stretch the belt 10 in a longitudinaldirection thereo are resisted by uniform elongation of the splice piece21 through elongation of the diamond shapes 35 formed in the fabric 21by the crossing of the cables 31 as explained hereinabove.

The angle α may, if desired, be any desired acute angle. In thepreferred embodiment of the present invention, the angle α has beenchosen to correspond to the arc tangent of 2, which is approximately63.43°. This particular angle has been chosen because it may easily beformed by constructing a right triangle with perpendicular sides one ofwhich is twice as long as the other and with the hypotenuse of thetriangle forming the angle α with the shorter side. In this light, theabove described dimensions make it easy for one skilled in the art toconstruct a jig to perform the various cuts including the cut whichforms the interfaces 11 and 13 at the angle α with the longitudinal axis15 of the belt. Again, it is stressed, that any acute angle α may beutilized in cutting the belt 10. Another reason for the choice of anacute angle is the fact that the angular nature of the interface 11, 13will cause the belt 10 when spliced in accordance with the presentinvention to roll over the conveyor pulleys in a gradual manner acrossthe belt rather than in the sudden fashion which would occur were theangle α to be 90°.

The splice piece 21 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 may be described as a 2-plysplice piece in that it includes two layers formed by the crossed cables31. If desired, in lighter applications, a single ply wire fabric 22 maybe employed as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 which would consist of aplurality of cables 32 laid adjacent to one another in parallel relationso that in the configuration of the splice piece as shown for example inFIG. 6, these cables 32 would all be parallel to the longitudinal axis15 of the belt 10. When such a single ply splice piece is utilized, theparallel cables are embedded in a rubber pad 34 so as to ensure theintegrity of the structure thereof.

While the splice piece 21 has been described above as being made of awire fabric such as that which is used in steel belted radial tires, ifdesired, for reasons of added flexibility and in lighter applicationsthe splice piece may be made of a non-metallic fabric such as that whichis used in fabric bias play tires. One example of such a fabric is madeof a nylon weave.

With reference now to FIGS. 7 and 8, the present invention will beexplained in conjunction with belts of even and odd numbers of plies.Firstly, with reference to FIG. 7, a cross-sectional view along thelongitudinal axis of a belt 10' having an even number of plies is shown.The belt 10' has a top ply 10a and a bottom ply 10b. Although the belt10' only has two plies, the teachings of the present invention asapplied to a two-ply belt are equally applicable to any belt of evennumber plies such as 4, 6 etc. As shown, the belt 10' has been sliced,at the interface designated by reference numerals 11' and 13'.Furthermore, the belt 10' has been sliced in the longitudinal directionas designated by reference numerals 16 and 18 which allows the insertionof the splice piece 21'. Also shown in FIG. 7 are the strings 23', 25',the purpose of which having been described in detail hereinabove withregard to FIG. 8, and also shown in FIG. 7 are the open weave fabricpieces 27' and 29' the significance of which having also been describedwith reference to FIG. 8. In splicing a belt with even plies such as thetwo-ply belt 10' of FIG. 7, the plies are slit in the longitudinaldirection between the middle two plies, which in this case are also theouter two plies.

As also shown in FIG. 7, the outermost plies which in this case are thesole plies 10a and 10b may be removed from the belt 10' a short distanceto each side of the interface designated by reference numerals 11' and13'. While this is an optional procedure, when it is performed, freshrubber splines 12 and 14 are inserted into the openings vacated by theremoved strips and during the vulcanization process, the splines 12 and14 become integrated into the belt 10'.

With reference now to FIG. 8, it seen that a belt 10" having an oddnumber of plies is shown. In particular, the belt 10" includes threeplies, 10c, 10d and 10e. In a similar manner to the belt 10' shown inFIG. 7, the belt 10" of FIG. 8 also includes a splice piece 21", strings25" and 23", open weave fabric pieces 27" and 29" as well as freshrubber splines 12' and 14' which replace strips of the outer plies 10cand 10e respectively which have been removed adjacent the interface 11",13" during an optional aspect of the splicing procedure. When a beltsuch as the belt 10" having odd numbers of plies is to be spliced, theplies in the preferred embodiment, are slit between the center ply, inthis case, the ply 10d, and the next ply toward the drive cover side,which is the side of the belt facing inwardly and away from the surfacewhich is utilized to transport the items for which the conveyor belt 10"has been provided.

The particular details of the inventive splice having been described, itis believed appropriate to begin a discussion of the actual method ofsplicing by describing the particular details of the apparatusconsisting of several interrelated elements which is utilized to performthe actual splice. In this light, reference is now made to FIGS. 1-4wherein are illustrated the particulars of the apparatus utilized tosplice a belt.

Firstly, reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 2 which show top and sideviews, respectively, of a jig 100. The jig 100 is composed of a pair ofsubstantially co-planar base plates 101 and 103 and a further base plate105 which overlies the base plates 101 and 103 as best seen withreference to FIG. 2. In the preferred embodiment, the belt 10 is adaptedto overlie the top base plate 105 which then overlies the base plates101 and 103. As best seen in FIG. 1, the base plate 101 includes at eachlateral end thereof a plurality of holes 107. These holes 107 areprovided so as to enable the releasable attachment thereto of a clampingmember 109 designed to clamp the belt 10 between the clamping member 109and the base plate 105. For this purpose, the clamping member 109includes ends 111 thereof which extend laterally of the base plate 105and each of which includes a respective hole 113 alignable with one ofthe holes 107. A bolt 115 may be inserted through each hole 113 andthence through one of the holes 107 and may be thereafter fixedlyretained therein either by virtue of threading of the holes 107 oralternatively through the provision of a nut (not shown) which may bethreaded underneath the base plate 101 over each respective bolt 115. Asbest seen with reference to FIG. 2, the clamping member 109 clamps thebelt 10 in the fixed position with regard to the base plates 101, 103and 105.

With further reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, it is seen that the base plate101 has fixedly attached thereto a guide bar 117 which is rigidlyattached to the base plate 101 by screws 119. As best seen in FIG. 1,the end of the base plate 105 nearest the guide bar 117 is at an acuteangle with respect to the longitudinal axis 15 of the belt 10 andsimilarly, the end of the base plate 101 on which the guide bar 119 ismounted in parallel relationship therewith is at the same acute anglewhich corresponds to the angle α discussed hereinabove with reference toFIGS. 3 and 4.

Thus, between the terminating edge 106 of the base plate 105 and theinner surface 120 of the guide bar 117, a space is formed which isdesignated by reference numeral 121, the significance of which will bedescribed in greater detail hereinafter. As shown in FIG. 1, the baseplate 105 is made of a generally triangular form having a lengthdimension x, a width dimension y, and a hypotenuse z. The jig isparticularly designed in the embodiment shown so that the widthdimension y is approximately twice the length dimension x. This is doneso that one skilled in the art contemplating using the present inventionmay easily construct a jig by constructing a right triangle havingperpendicular sides one of which is twice the length of the other andconnecting them with a hypotenuse to form a right triangle. When such ajig is constructed, the angle α between the sides x and z thereof willbe approximately 63.43°. While it is a preferred aspect of the presentinvention to make the angle α an acute angle for the reasons set forthhereinabove, especially in light of the resultant gradual rolling of thebelt splice over the pulley, any acute angle α would be equallyeffective as the angle α 63.43° which has been disclosed as a preferredangle herein. Again, this angle has only been chosen as being the anglewhich results when a jig is formed of a right triangle havingperpendicular sides one of which is twice the dimension of the other. Inanother aspect of the jig 100 in the preferred embodiment, the widthdimension 6 is intended to generally correspond with the width of thebelt 10.

As further shown with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the space 121 isprovided so that a sliding knife holder 130 may be controllably guidedtherein. This sliding knife holder 130 is provided to guide the knife131 in both slicing the belt at the splice area and splitting the beltbetween the appropriate plies thereof as discussed hereinabove with theparticular reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIGS. 3 and 4 show with greaterparticularity the details of ths sliding knife holder 130. Reference isfirst made to FIG. 3 which shows the sliding knife holder 130 clampingthe knife 131 in a position in which it is able to slice off the end ofthe belt 10 at the correct angle. As shown, the sliding knife holder 130includes top and bottom plates 133 and 135 which are clamped togetherthrough the provision of handles 137 having bolts 139 extendingtherefrom which bolts 139 extend through respective holes in the topplate 133 and thence thread into threaded holes 143 formed in the lowerplate 135. As shown in FIG. 3, in the preferred embodiment, the topplate 133 is provided on one side thereof with a clamping bar 145 havinga slot 147 thereof being narrower in thickness than the thickness of theblade of the knife 141. The clamping bar 145 is clamped to the top plate133 by bolts 149 which may be threaded into holes 151 (FIG. 4),

With the knife 131 attached to the sliding knife holder 130 as shown inFIG. 3, the sliding knife holder 130 may be controllably moved along thespace 121 best seen in FIG. 1 to guide the knife blade in slicing offthe end of the belt 10.

After the belt 10 has been sliced in the manner described hereinabove,the bolts 149 and clamping bar 145 may be removed from the top plate 133and with reference to FIG. 4, the knife may be inserted between theplates 133 and 135 so as to enable the splitting of the belt 10 alongthe longitudinal axis thereof.

As shown in FIG. 4, the plates 133 and 135 have respective facingsurfaces 134 and 136 which are stepped to define stepped interfaces 153,155, 157, 159 and 161. The interfaces are specifically designed so as tosupport the blade of the knife 131 at different elevations with respectto the vertical position of the belt 10. Thus, the interfaces 153-161allow adjustability of the elevation of the blade of the knife 131 withrespect to the belt 10 to thereby enable belts of differing plyconfigurations and of differing thicknesses to be sliced either betweenthe middle plies thereof (in the case of an even plyed belt) or betweenthe middle ply and the ply immediately therebelow (as in the case of abelt with odd numbers of plies). Thus, the handles 137 may be loosenedso as to allow the blade of the knife 131 to be inserted into theinterface which corresponds to the vertical elevation of the particularlocation in the belt where the longitudinal slicing operation is to beperformed. As shown in FIG. 4, the blade of the knife 131 which isdesignated by reference numeral 132 has been placed in the interface 157so as to align the blade 132 with a particular elevation between thepredetermined plies of the belt 10 (not shown in FIG. 4). After theblade 132 has been inserted into the appropriate interface, the handles137 may be tightened so as to clamp the plates 133 and 135 togetherrigidly about the blade 132 with the blade 132 protruding through thesliding knife holder 130 a distance which is predetermined based uponthe required depth of slice into the belt 10.

With the knife 131 positioned as shown in FIG. 4, the sliding knifeholder 130 may be controllably slid along the space 121 between thesurfaces 106 and 120 so as to slice the belt 10 in a predeterminedfashion.

It is further noted with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4 that the surface 106defining the terminus of the base plate 105 defines the location wherethe belt 10 will be sliced and acts as a guide for the knife in soslicing the belt when the knife 131 is installed on the sliding knifeholder 130 as shown in FIG. 3. After the belt 10 has been sliced as bestseen in FIG. 1, the portion of the belt 10 which is to be spliced to theportion which has just been cut may then be cut utilizing the jig 100and sliding knife holder 130. In so doing, the other portion of the beltis installed in the jig 100 in precisely the same manner that theformerly sliced portion had previously been installed and in utilizingthe sliding knife holder in the orientation shown in FIG. 4, the sameinterface as was previously used is also employed for the secondlongitudinal slice.

Now, with the actual details of both the splice and the jig having beendescribed in great detail, the method of splicing a belt will now bedescribed in great detail with reference being made throughout to FIGS.1-10.

A conveyor belt which is to be spliced in accordance with the teachingsof the present invention consists of an elongated constructionpreferably made of rubber or other similar material and having two ends.The first step which must be undertaken in practicing the teachings ofthe present invention is to slice off one of the ends of the belt at theappropriate angle with respect to the longitudinal axis thereof. Thus,the first belt end is rigidly fixed to the jig 100 by loosening thebolts 115, removing the clamping member 109 from the base plate 101,placing the belt over the base plate 105 with the longitudinal axisthereof being substantially parallel to the side x of the base plate 105and thereafter placing the clamping member 109 over the belt and boltingthe clamping member 109 to the base plate 101 through the use of thebolts 115. During this operation care is taken to ensure that thesurface 106 of the base plate 105 is completely covered by the end ofthe bolt.

With the belt so clamped to the jig 100, the sliding knife holder 130 isprepared to slice off the end of the belt by having the knife blade 132thereof mounted under the clamping bar 145 as best seen in FIG. 3. Theextent to which the blade 132 protrudes below the clamping bar 145 willbe determined based upon the thickness of the particular belt which isbeing spliced. Thereafter, the sliding knife holder is slid along thespace 121 from one end thereof to the other end thereof whichmaintaining the sliding knife holder 130 securely within the space 121so that the blade 132 acts to slice the end of the belt off preciselyalong the surface 106 of the base plate 105.

After the end of the belt has been so sliced, the knife 131 is removedfrom the clamping bar 145 and, with reference to FIG. 4, one of theinterfaces 153, 155, 157, 159 or 161 is chosen for insertiontherethrough of the knife blade 132 with the particular interface beingchosen based upon the particular construction of the particular belt,most importantly based upon the elevation of the location between theappropriate plies where a longitudinal slice is required. Thereafter,the handles 137 are loosened, the blade 132 of the knife 131 is insertedthrough the appropriate interface and the handles 137 are thereaftertightened so as to firmly attach the knife 131 to the sliding knifeholder 130. It is noted that the extent to which the knife blade 132 hasextended through the plates 133 and 135 at the particular interfacechosen is predetermined based upon the longitudinal extent to which itis desired to split the belt end.

With the knife 131 attached to the sliding knife holder 130 as shown inFIG. 4, the sliding knife holder 130 is then engaged into the space 121as shown in FIG. 1 and is thereafter slid across the entire extent ofthe space 121 from one end to another so that the belt end is split atprecisely the elevation desired and between the plies which are chosenin accordance with the factors discussed hereinabove with regard to thespecific description of FIGS. 7 and 8. Thereafter, the sliding knifeholder 130 may be removed from the space 121 and the belt may be removedfrom the jig 100 by loosening of the clamping member 109 from the baseplate 101.

The first end of the belt having been precisely prepared for the splice,the second end of the belt is inserted into the jig 100 as explainedhereinabove and the end thereof is sliced off and a split is formedtherein in accordance with the method steps discussed hereinaboveconcerning the first belt end. After both belt ends have been preparedfor the slice as discussed hereinabove, if desired, the top and bottomlayers of the belt at each end thereof may be removed so as to allow thereplacement of the removed materials with fresh rubber splines as shownin FIGS. 7 and 8 and discussed hereinabove in the specific descriptionof FIGS. 7 and 8.

If this optional procedure has been followed, then the next step is toinsert the strings 23 and 25 at the deepest penetrations of thelongitudinal slits in the belt ends for the reasons set forthhereinabove regarding the discussions of FIG. 5, namely to facilitatethe dispersion of vapors created during the vulcanization procedure.

Thereafter, the splice piece 21 is inserted into the slit in the beltends and the belt ends are engaged with one another as specificallyshown in FIGS. 7 and 8 at the interfaces 11 and 13. As describedhereinabove, the splice piece may be of a single ply with the wirecables thereof running parallel to one another and being embedded in arubber pad as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, of, alternatively, may be made ofa 2, 3 or greater number ply construction wherein the wire cables areangled with respect to one another in the manner shown in FIG. 6 withthe cables being equally angled to either side of the longitudinal axis15 of the belt so that they will most effectively resist longitudinalstretching of the belt 10 after splicing. It is further noted that ifdesired, the splice piece and slit surfaces may be coated with asuitable rubber cement and may be allowed to dry prior to the insertionof the splice piece to enhance the strength of the eventual splice.

If the above described optional procedure has been followed, to wit, theremoving of the top and bottom layers of rubber from the belt ends, theopenings defined by these removed layers may then have inserted thereinstrips of open weave fabric which are referred to in FIG. 5 with thereference numerals 27 and 29, and, thereafter, fresh strips of rubbermay be inserted over the open weave fabric strips as shown in FIGS. 7and 8 and designated by reference numerals 12 and 14.

At this point, the belt is ready for vulcanization. The vulcanizationcan be undertaken in any conventional manner, for example, through theuse of steam or electrical heat to about 310° F. and at a pressurebetween the press heads of at least 100 p.s.i.

Accordingly, a splice and a method of splicing a belt have beendisclosed hereinabove which are believed to be far superior to prior artsplices and methods when ease of splicing, expense and strength ofsplice are considered. It must be stressed, however, that variousmodifications, alterations, and changes in the present invention may becontemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from theintended scope thereof. Accordingly, it is stressed that the presentinvention is only intended to be limited by the terms of the followingclaims.

I claim:
 1. A method of splicing a flexible belt, having a longitudinalaxis comprising the steps of:(a) providing said belt with top and bottomsurfaces and with two ends; (b) cutting said ends in substantiallylinear cuts so that said ends are engageable with one another at aninterface making a predetermined angle ⊖ with said axis so as tomaintain the linear nature of said axis through said interface; (c)slicing into said ends a predetermined distance along said axis and at apredetermined elevation between said surfaces to form two spaces whichform a combined space when said cut ends are engaged with one another,each said space terminating at a distance from said interface at anelongated end surface; (d) inserting a string into each said space inengagement substantially throughout its length with a respective saidelongated end surface; (e) inserting into said spaces a splice pieceformed of a flexible fabric, said splice piece engaging each saidstring, while engaging said cut ends with one another to define a splicearea so that said splice piece is located within said combined space;and (f) vulcanizing said splice area at predetermined levels of pressureand temperature to integrate said splice area into said belt.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein said angle comprises an acute angle.
 3. Themethod of claim 2 wherein said angle comprises approximately thearctangent of
 2. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said belt includes anodd number of plies including a middle ply, and said predeterminedelevation is between said middle ply and an adjacent ply toward saidbottom surface.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said belt includes aneven number of plies including two middle plies, and said predeterminedelevation is between said middle plies.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein said splice piece comprises a plurality of twisted metalliccables.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said cables are imbedded in arubber pad.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein said cables are woventogether at a predetermined angle β with respect to one another, saidsplice piece being cut so that when it is vulcanized into said belt saidangle β is substantially bisected by said longitudinal axis.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein prior to said inserting step, said top andbottom surfaces are removed immediately adjacent said interface.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein after said engaging step, said top and bottomsurfaces are replaced with an open weave fabric piece covered with afresh rubber spline.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein said vulcanizingstep is carried out at a temperature of about 300° F. and at a pressureof at least 100 p.s.i.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to eachsaid cutting step, the belt end which is to be cut is clamped in a jigwith said belt end protruding over a guide surface of said jig.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein each said cutting step is carried out by:(a)mounting a knife in a sliding knife guide; and (b) guiding said slidingknife guide along said guide surface to perform one of said linear cuts.14. The method of claim 13, wherein each said slicing step is carriedout by removing said knife from said knife guide, reattaching said knifeto said knife guide at an orientation substantially perpendicular to itsprevious mounted orientation and at a level with respect to said beltcorresponding to said elevation, and guiding said knife guide along saidguide surface to form each said space.